A relatively new tool in the physiotherapy and sports medicine arsenal is high-stretch adhesive support tape. Such tape is distinct from traditional “sports” tape which is used to isolate and restrain a body part to protect it and allow healing. It is also distinct from traditional wrap bandages (e.g. TENSOR® bandages), which although stretchable, are primarily used for bracing an injury. High-stretch adhesive support tape, by contrast, is used for the purpose of positioning the body part (typically a joint) while permitting a high degree of natural mobility.
High-stretch adhesive support tape acts as an assist to weak musculature. The stretch in the tape allows a mild degree of tension to be placed across the supported body part, in effect acting as an auxiliary muscle.
High-stretch adhesive support tape can also be used for pain therapy in acute situations. The tape lifts the skin providing a stimulus to the fascia and/or muscular tissue, stimulates blood and lymphatic flow, alters the forces over the affected joint, effects muscle inhibition and facilitation, and stimulates muscle and skin receptors such as mechanoreceptors, nociceptors, exteroceptive receptors, and cutaneous proprioceptive afferents.
The adhesive aspect of the tape is critical to producing these effects. The tape sticks directly to the body. The adhesive is strong enough that opposite ends of a length of tape applied to the body will remain adhered even when the tape length is under tension and the body part is in regular active use. This contrasts with other tapes that are either non-adhesive or adhesive only to themselves. These tapes can be wrapped repeatedly on a body part or dispensed from a self-adhesive roll but cannot be adhered directly to the body.
One particularly effective type of high-stretch adhesive support tape is Kinesio Tex™ by Kinesio Co., Ltd. of Japan. This tape has many of the advantageous properties discussed above. However, it suffers several drawbacks, relating to the fact that it is sold in rolls, which must be customized for application according to the imagination and skill of the doctor. A physiotherapist or sports doctor must cut off a section of the tape from a roll, cut the length of tape further into a therapeutic shape, and apply it to the patient. The cutting, shaping and positioning (tensioning) of the tape piece are left to the complete discretion of the doctor. It is a trial and error process. The doctor is effectively trying to estimate a position, length, shape and degree of tension that will cause a subjective improvement in sensation, range of motion or pain relief in the patient.
The tape includes no visual indication of where or how to position it on the patient's body or how to use the stretch property effectively (what tension to apply). As a result, it is possible to position the tape incorrectly or with an inappropriate tension reducing the therapeutic effectiveness, reducing or constricting blood circulation, or even worsening the underlying condition.
For the patient, this trial and error process can be frustrating. Obtaining relief and/or satisfactory support from the tape is thus heavily dependent on the skill of the particular doctor and his/her experience with the tape product. Furthermore, the patient is committed to attending regularly at the doctor's office to have the tape freshly applied, since the tape is not typically available to patients directly, and in any case, could not be applied without considerable professional guidance.
For the doctor, the tape cutting and shaping are time-consuming and may be impossible to accommodate in a busy practice. Most doctors do not see their patients on a sufficiently regular basis to keep up a continuous tape therapy. There may be long gaps between “tape application” visits for chronic conditions, during which gaps the patient has no self-treatment option.
Another drawback of existing tapes is that they are frequently only available in narrower widths (less than 3 inches). While a narrow width provides a convenient size for packaging on a roll, the size is not conducive to effective coverage for support of many body parts. The doctor applying the tape may have to cut and apply multiple pieces of tape to achieve the desired effect. This complicates the application process and increases the time commitment.
It would be desirable to provide a pre-cut, pre-engineered adhesive body support article to overcome the aforementioned problems of high-stretch adhesive support tapes.